In a world driven and defined by immorality, the truth is often obscured by propaganda. The boundaries between natural and artificial are blurred. The conscious becomes the unconscious.
To challenge the rationale is bold.
To explore the minefield is brave.
To unearth the truth - nothing better.
Ne ultra - nothing beyond.

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

Stockholm - An Anglican bishop from Zimbabwe on Monday expressed grave concern over the situation in his country, sentiments that were echoed by a Swedish cabinet minister.

"It is like a war, in the sense that there is total absence of peace," Bishop Sebastian Bakare told Swedish radio news. Bakare was in Sweden to accept the Per Anger Prize, a human rights prize for his efforts at fighting oppression.

The prize, worth 150 000 kronor, was created in 2004 in honour of Swedish diplomat Per Anger and honours "people and organizations that risk their own safety to defend the rights of the individual against oppression and inhumanity".

Anger was a close associate of Raoul Wallenberg, who was credited with saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. "People are crying, no food, no water, no medication," Bakare earlier told broadcaster TV4.

"Some are displaced, children are not going to school. I think every aspect of our society you look at is crying." Bakare expressed doubts about the call for power-sharing of the home affairs ministry between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival, prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai.

A summit of Southern African leaders called for this on Sunday, but Tsvangirai questioned the viability of sharing the key ministry. The bishop said he had "never had any trust in any compromise in government. You either win or you lose.

The elections in March were decisive enough, that is what the people wished." "People need to have a strong government to put the economic situation in a better position, not this wishy-washy kind of argument," he added, saying that he was optimistic that "one day Zimbabwe is going to be free.

"International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson said she was "disappointed" that the emergency summit of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) had failed to break the deadlock between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

"While the negotiations drag on, the people of Zimbabwe are paying a high price," Carlsson added in a statement.

And the bloodshed continues while the South African taxpayer wines and dines Mugabe and his cronies, at yet another bullshit summit. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, who chaired the summit, said an agreement on power-sharing "remains the only vehicle to help extricate Zimbabwe from her socio-economic challenges".

Zimbabwe is suffering from severe food shortages and rampant inflation. Mr Tsvangirai has warned that a million Zimbabweans could starve to death in a year if the political deadlock continues.

Tomaz Salomao, executive secretary of the SADC, said the compromise would mean there would have to be two home ministers, "one appointed by Zanu-PF, one by the MDC".

Mr Salomao told reporters that "the SADC was asked to rule and SADC took a decision and that's the position of SADC".

We should not for one moment forget that it was our current president Kgalema Motlanthe who, as head of the South African observer mission to the massively rigged Zimbabwean elections in 2002, declared that poll “free, fair and credible”.

It is therefore a given that his credibility as a mediator will be one sided. He and Thabo Mbeki have pulled out all the stops in their unwavering support for this dictator, while the bodies pile up.